Political Roundup: 19 December 2022

Items of interest and importance today

PARLIAMENT
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Will Christopher Luxon write the final act of Winston Peters’ career?
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): MP’s emails show pattern of personal attacks on ministry
Guardian: New Zealand set to cancel Jacinda Ardern’s Waitangi Day BBQ amid security concerns
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Labour may be too late to win back voters it has alienated (paywalled)
Michael Fletcher (Spinoff): Why income insurance should be the first thing taken off 
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Inflation pushes up the cost of Government, putting pressure on Grant Robertson (paywalled)
Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Jacinda Ardern giving Labour prickly pare for Xmas (paywalled)
Ben McKay (The Age): How New Zealand fell out of love with Jacinda Ardern’s government
Luke Malpass (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern end-of-year interview: Why the PM won’t be reading this summer
Janet Wilson (Stuff): Labour must prioritise people doing it tough over pet projects
Graham Adams (The Platform): Report into Mahuta family contracts leaves questions unanswered
RNZ: Dozens of groups urge govt to pick up pace on co-governance
RNZ: National, ACT, Greens and Te Pāti Māori on the year ahead
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why National are performing so poorly against a self mutilating Labour and why capacity is the real issue for 2023
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: Prickly end to year in Parliament
Ella Morgan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern and David Seymour’s ‘arrogant prick’ charity auction reaches $60,000
Tess McClure (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern auctions off ‘arrogant prick’ comment to raise money for prostate cancer charity
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): From prick to arshole – why Jacinda’s attack on David Seymour was so wrong
Steve Braunias (Herald): The Secret Diary of … Xmas Songs (paywalled)
Tom Hunt (Stuff): Paul Eagle: The man, the enigma, the Rongotai MP?
David Farrar: The battle for Wellington

2022 IN REVIEW, THE YEAR AHEAD
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): The Infamous TDB Political Awards 2022
Stuff: The biggest U-turns, dramas and Stuff’s Politician of the Year for 2022
Jane Patterson (RNZ): Mishaps of 2022 swinging the pendulum of general elections
Claire Trevett (Herald): The Politician of the Year for 2022 (paywalled)
Johnny Blades (RNZ): A year of disruption: Parliament’s 2022 in review
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Beehive Diaries: Drum roll please – our political awards (paywalled)
Mike Munro (Herald): And the Politician of the Year award goes to… (paywalled)
Newshub: Election 2023: National ‘exactly where we want to be’ ahead of next year, senior MP Erica Stanford says
Victor Billlot (Newsroom): An Ode to .. 2022
Luke Malpass (Stuff): ‘Tis the season of speculation – what to watch for in 2023
Andrew Kirton (Herald): Nine things to look out for in the next political year (paywalled)

ECONOMY
Liam Dann (Herald): Recession, change of Government, grim tidings for New Year (paywalled)
Cameron Bagire (BusinessDesk): It’s the recession that isn’t a recession (paywalled)
Brianna MciLraith (Stuff): Wages ‘doubled’ but still struggling: Solo mum feeling the sting of inflation – and she’s not alone
RNZ: Consumers warned of ‘potential debt traps’ in buy now pay later offers – CAANZ
RNZ: Job ads fall 8% but demand for labour remains high – Seek
Aimee Shaw (stuff): Small business sales sink to lowest level since September 2021
Avina Vidyadharan (Stuff): ‘People don’t really care about recession,’ says retailer as Christmas spend ramps up

MIGRANT WORKERS, EMPLOYMENT, BUSINESS
Peter Wilson and Julie Fry (Stuff): Righting the power imbalance at the heart of the RSE scheme
Herald: Calls for ‘complete overhaul’ of RSE scheme but business group hits back at criticism
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): ‘Modern-day slavery’ liquor boss gets record $1.55m in fines for migrant worker exploitation
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Govt confident its equity finance scheme for SMEs will get off the ground (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): New pricing rules could help put squeeze on supermarkets’ excess profits
Ryan Anderson (Stuff): Firefighters accept pay rise up to 24% after Government steps
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Firefighters accept pay offer
1News: Firefighters accept agreement, closing 18-month FENZ dispute
Daisy Hudson (ODT): Trucker claims ‘horrific’ hours
Alanah Eriksen (Herald): Alanah Eriksen: Why are women punished for taking a holiday after having a baby? (paywalled)
Tracy Decena (Stuff): Why won’t Kiwi fashion brands protect overseas garment-makers from poverty?

COVID-19
Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Covid vaccination campaign head resigned after allegations of conflicts of interest
Kirsty Wynn (Herald): Epidemiologist Michael Baker sounds Covid-19 warning ahead of Christmas shopping rush
Ruth Hill (RNZ): Covid-19: Cases climbing as health system heads for a Christmas crunch
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Accused MIQ ‘queue jumpers’ prosecuted – but vindicated in court
Stuff: Ministers approve Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for high-risk children under five
Caroline Williams (Stuff): Billy Te Kahika, Vinny Eastwood guilty of organising protest during Covid lockdown
Sophie Harris (Stuff): Covid-19: Pharmacist to face disciplinary charges over anti-vax videos
Mike Williams (Hawke’s Bay Today): Anti-vaxxer movement was the big loser in by-election (paywalled)

HEALTH
Ian Powell: So much stuffed up by so few: reflecting on 2022
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): From fringe to life member: The social worker who could be called Doctor
Kristie Boland (Stuff): Young Māori not getting help for mental health until it is too late, study finds
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Stroke patients failed by ‘postcode lottery rehabilitation’
Kristie Boland (Stuff): Charity Hospital opens major new extension due to growing number of under-50s with bowel cancer
Katie Townshend (Stuff): How long will you wait if you head to hospital in the top of the south?
Denise Piper (Stuff): Northland town with no dentist likely to be forced to add fluoride to water
Olivia Shivas (Stuff): Review of adult decision-making capacity law is ‘long overdue’
Rachael Kelly (Stuff): MP calls for Lumsden Maternity Centre to be reopened for post-natal care
Raphael Franks (Herald): Mongrel Mob ‘take over’ Christchurch Hospital ICU, visiting mother claims

HOUSING
Rayssa Almeida (RNZ): Kāinga Ora’s social housing development on hold after neighbourhood backlash
Kelly Makiha (Bay of Plenty Times): Contracted emergency housing motels decision: What Rotorua locals think
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Why the septic wound of the Rotorua emergency housing sums up NZ so perfectly
Miriam Bell (Stuff): By the numbers: Here’s where the housing market is at year’s end
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Tauranga hapū’s dreams dashed by council decision to sell farm on open market
RNZ: Kāinga Ora rejects claims of anti-competitive behaviour over Papakura residential projects

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Susan Botting (Local Democracy Reporting): Petition seeks mandatory karakia for councils with Māori wards or constituencies
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): How to win friends and influence people, Kaipara-style: Mayor sets cracking unpopularity pace
Andrea Fox (Herald): Auckland port future: Top firms say efficiency, not politics and posturing, must be priority (paywalled)
Sinead Gill (Stuff): Christchurch mayor entered election with war chest of donations
Tina Law (Press): Failed Christchurch City Council candidates spend big on campaigns
Janine Rankin (Manawatū Standard): Biggest election spender says investment paid dividends
Stefan Speller (Manawatū Standard): Does liking a post make you more likely to post a vote?
Felix Desmarais (Local Democracy Reporting): Rotorua councillor Trevor Maxwell butts heads with mayor Tania Tapsell over appointments – and Christmas dinner
Logan Savory (Stuff): Audit NZ calls for review into Invercargill City Council audit reportprocess

THREE WATERS
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Wellington’s water problems have been decades in the making
Alisha Evans (Bay of Plenty Times): Western Bay of Plenty Council joins other councils seeking solution to Three Waters

ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Cabinet overrides Shaw and Commission on carbon price
Eloise Gibson (Stuff): Government baulks at raising carbon price as cost of living bites
Rod Oram (Newsroom): The risks for the future are overwhelmingly environmental
Steven Cowan: Seeing red over climate change
Craig Ashworth (Local Democracy Reporting): Taranaki kaimoana ban given legal teeth

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
Gerhard Uys (Stuff): Tesco’s warning to New Zealand farmers
Sally Rae (ODT): Grassroots farmers put views to PM
Moana Ellis (Local Democray Reporting): Māori agribusiness sets target to cut emissions by 10 percent
Sally Rae (ODT): ‘Hint of some common sense’ pleasing
Catherine Hubbard (Stuff): Meat the Need rural telethon raises 1.2 million meals
RNZ: Telethon raises enough to buy more than a million feeds

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
George Block (Herald): Exclusive: Kiwi Air Force missions repeatedly intercepted by foreign military jets
Sam Sachdeva and Emanuel Stoakes (Newsroom): Chinese ‘police centre’ in NZ tied to businessman
Anna Fifield (Stuff): NZ-China relations: From ‘dazzling’ ping pong to $38 billion a year
Christine Rovoi (Stuff): NZ and Pacific urged to ‘step up’ against Japan’s nuclear plan
Nicholas Khoo (Newsroom): A dismal year for autocrats raises questions for NZ

EDUCATION
Philip Matthews (Stuff): Fact or fantasy? The battle over the Polynesian Antarctica discovery
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): University of Auckland to apply mātauranga Māori to services and projects
Jerry Coyne: New Zealand starting a curriculum that gives indigenous knowledge equal weight to the “traditional world view” in all subjects
Ashleigh McCaull (RNZ): Rates of Māori stood down from school twice that of Pākeha students
Gabrielle McCulloch (Stuff): School boards: The all-powerful people in control of our children’s education
Gabrielle McCulloch (Stuff): Two thirds of pre-school teachers not ‘paid fairly’, despite $266m Govt investment
Matt Nippert (Herald): Toitū te Waiora CEO Donovan Clarke used work credit card for lobster, booze (paywalled)

CRIME
Eruera Tarena (Stuff): A Māori teen with a pop gun meets the politics of fear
Jody O’Callaghan (Stuff): Ramraid ‘politics of fear could have killed my son’, kura dad says
Troels Sommerville (Stuff): ‘Take that, Luxon’: Samoan comic artist working for Disney from his south Auckland garage
Mohammad Alafeshat (RNZ): Chinese community members march against rising crime
Martyn Bradbury (Waatea): Let’s do something meaningful to prevent youth crime
Shaneel Lal (Herald): Boot camps vs financial help – Luxon is on the wrong track (paywalled)
John MacDonald (Newstalk ZB): Youth crime – are we reaping what we sow?

MEDIA
Peter Davis (Newsroom): Merged TVNZ/RNZ a marriage made in heaven, not hell
Karl du Fresne: The striking thing about the Dom Post’s new editor
Hayden Donnell (RNZ): Turning a more sceptical eye on the tech titans

IMMIGRATION
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Leaked document shows Immigration New Zealand reassessing visitors’ risk factors after visa backlog
Rowan Quinn (RNZ): Health professionals say residency fee prohibitive: ‘It’s all really expensive’

OTHER
James Halpin (Stuff): Taxpayers foot bill for new body cameras in Serco-run prison after recording faults
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): NZ falls short on building big ticket items like motorways, report finds
Michelle Duff (Stuff): The number of kids being taken from their parents has plummeted. History tells us the pendulum could swing back
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): The Ghost of Information Past and a chance of redemption (paywalled)
André Chumko (Stuff): New Zealand’s museums and galleries are worth $5.6 billion: report
1News: Families of 24 Māori Battalion soldiers receive WWII medals in Upper Hutt
Emma Clark-Dow (Stuff): Waka Kotahi’s ‘Walk it Wheel it’ programme labelled ‘cynical’ by cycling activists
Virginia Fallon (Stuff): ‘We’re part of history, you can’t erase us’: Mongrel Mob fight ban on gang insignia at cemetery
Herald: Te Whatu Ora hacked files: Court issues order to stop ‘unknown’ people viewing data
Lois Williams (Newsroom): All we want for Christmas is our fossil
Adam Dudding and Eugene Bingham (Stuff): Secret agents, midnight battles and robots: Inside Wikipedia’s great macron war